Less for More?

We are going to pick on Tim Hortons a little here.

If it were not for the fact that those two cans were sitting side-by-side on the same shelf and that something was being put on them we would have remained oblivious to the fact that there was a distinct size difference between them.

In fact, we would have gone on happily paying more (increase was ~$2.00 per tin for that coffee) without even paying close attention to the size reduction _during_ that increase.

So, we have a smaller tin that we are paying more for.

Now, given the fact that Tim Hortons coffee is a staple in our day-to-day diet we will not be jumping ship anytime soon.

However, it will give us cause for pause in that we may look at alternatives a little more closely such as some of the so-called Fair Trade coffees. We have a bag of Columbian and a bag of Zambian (iirc the African country’s name and spelling right) coffee that is very rich in flavour.

Technology

When it comes to technology we pay particular attention to all of the various product manufacturers and their products.

We are always particularly mindful of the following:

• Is there a good compatibility list for the manufacturer’s products?
• No one can beat Intel’s Server Configurator for server building.
• Does the manufacturer have good post-sales support?
• Is there an 800 number, or even direct dial, to talk to real people that _know_ the product?
• Some manufacturers obfuscate the whole process with their voice prompts after calling in.
• Is the RMA process simple or a rat’s nest to get through?
• Ever try to RMA an Asus product? We gave up.
• Kingston and Crucial both are fantastic to deal with.
• Intel has an Advanced Warranty Replacement program that is second to none.
• Does the product have good documentation?
• Most manufacturers fall short in this category as hard as some of them try.

In all of the products we work with we also need to keep in mind that the more time we waste on shoddy post-sales support with manufacturers that it costs us big-time. That in turn costs our clients in lost production time if things go down.

Some of you from Canada may remember IPC and Bondwell PCs back when. Their systems were hundreds of dollars less than the competing Tier 1 or our own quality component built systems.

The IT business owner I was working with decided to dive right into them. In the end it cost us a huge amount in lost time replacing cheap flaky components that it became readily apparent that IPC and Bondwell PCs were not the way to go.

Because of this experience we here at MPECS Inc. have not delved into any entry-level or consumer grade components and systems. It is our preference to stick with the higher end Chevy/VW and Cadillac/BMW series of systems, servers, and software products.

Though, the following video aught to make clear where our preference lies for both the solutions we deliver and the automobile product we prefer. :)

Cadillac CTS-V Supercharged

And, just in case there is _any_ ambiguity:

My favourite Cadillac Commercial of all time!

BTW, just like the Linux versus Windows, Hyper-V versus VMWare, AMD versus Intel, and so on one can get quite “religious” about one’s preference in finer automobiles. ;)

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

*Our original iMac was stolen (previous blog post). We now have a new MacBook Pro courtesy of Vlad Mazek, owner of OWN.

Hey Microsoft - SBS Marketing Ideas for us Canucks and others

Most of us small business I.T. shops have a pretty established way of marketing our business:

1. Reputation: A solution based on our client's industry and redundancy requirements.
2. Word of Mouth: Our reputation does indeed precede us.
3. The occasional ad in the local phone books or newspapers.
4. Online.

For us, the first two and the last are the big ones. Our clients have grown to know us as a resource for the I.T. solution needs. We are not a hardware or software vendor to them. We are an organization that can assess their given business circumstances with an understanding of how their particular industry impacts their I.T. needs.

For us Canucks, the SMB market represents about 97% of all businesses. Yes, 97% of all registered businesses in Canada are SMB! Other countries probably have their economies driven in the same manner.

Okay, so the Cloud will help to some degree with the under 3-5 seat crowd, but there are a lot of perceptions small business owners have about the Cloud and their data that need to be addressed first.

So, that begs the question: Where is Microsoft's marketing strategy for this market segment?

We have seen the ads for Windows with Mr. Gates and Seinfeld which I personally liked. Now, we are beginning to see the "I am PC" ads which may or may not turn people's cranks.

The reality is actually quite simple to us here: Market the SBS product's abilities! For us, it wins the sale virtually every time when we demonstrate SBS' Remote Web Workplace among other SBS features.

Most small business owners have never seen the Remote Web Workplace in action! In fact, many SMB focused I.T. "consultants" do not even know it exists!

Getting a business owner's brain juices flowing will follow a 15 or 30 second spot that shows, repeatedly, a user accessing their various network resources via RWW. Each resource: RDP, SharePoint, Outlook Web Access, and others could be featured in a spot. That would provide an awesome foundation to build out from for further campaigns.

One direction: Windows Mobile 6 integration ... and for us I.T. shops: who needs the headaches of installing the other fruit's Exchange integrated server!

Something to keep in mind when it comes to small business owners: They, like us, wear many hats. ROI may be somewhere up there in the grey matter, but the nuts and bolts of their daily business needs tend to be right before their eyes.

Seen a video of the new Cadillac CTS-V yet? The car is amazing and there are a lot of people just itching to get their hands on one. Why? Because the product just sells itself ... it is unbridled American ingenuity and muscle incorporating elegance all in one package ... and it just hauls! :D

The linked site has a couple of really good CTS-V related videos.

SBS 2008 has the ability to be marketed in the same manner ... the product has so many absolutely kewl features that just rock for the small business owner. Those features, the muscle and ingenuity of the SBS product, would absolutely kill in the marketplace ... if people knew about them!

Secure remote access is one of the killer apps for both the SBS and EBS product line. Prior to EBS, how many of us in small consultancies, or SMB focused I.T. service companies, can remember the, "Holy *insert expletive here*" when demonstrating RWW to our Enterprise employed friends, industry peers, or other I.T. acquaintances?

And finally: Where is the Microsoft Small Business Specialist logo in all of this? Why did we not see a link to finding one in the new SBS Console under the Community Links section? We get the logo if we click through to the Microsoft Small Business Center in the US. But, how many small business owners actually know what the logo means?

An opportunity to tie in MSBS with SBS 2008 is ripe for the picking. Again, marketing MSBS to the masses to make sure they understand that those companies that hold the certification have demonstrated a dedication to SMB I.T. solutions, their clients, and the industry by getting certified.

As far as we can tell, MSBS has been marketed to us Microsoft Partners, but not necessarily to the business folks out there. The MSBS logo near the top right of the MS Small Business Center (US) just does not cut it. Heh ... go to the Canadian SBC and the logo is nowhere to be found. :(

Folks, we are sitting on the CTS-V of server products in SBS/EBS ... and the engine is MSBS ... how about we market them as such?

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists

*All Mac on SBS posts are posted on our in-house iMac via the Safari Web browser.